Bum

Gosh I've been soooo lazy these days. I can barely bring myself to open my laptop and even check my emails! Yup, it's the end of the year and I'm allowed to have a relapse now and then!

With Christmas peering round, I really have to get off the couch and get all my shopping done! 'Nuff procrastinating! So over the weekend, I forced myself to get to the busy streets and crowded malls and joined the mass population doing last minute shopping. *Sigh* Finally all done but I'm totally out!

My husband asked me what I'd like for Christmas. Well......I've already got what I want. :D But what I really want is not something he can buy...with everything that are going on these days...this is what I really want....

Grown-up Christmas List

I sat upon your knee
I wrote to you
With childhood fantasies
Well, I'm all grown up now
Can you still help somehow
I'm not a child
But my heart still can dream
So here's my lifelong wish
My grown-up Christmas list
Not for myself
But for a world in need
No more lives torn apart
That wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
Every man would have a friend
That right would always win
And love would never end
This is my grown-up
Christmas list
What is this illusion called
The innocence of youth
Maybe only in their blind belief
Can we ever find the truth
There'd be no more lives torn apart
And wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
Every man would have a friend
And right would always win
And love would never end
This is my grown-up Christmas list
This is my only lifelong wish
This is my grown-up Christmas list

Lyrics By Natalie Cole

And to all my friends and family,

Merry Christmas!!!!!Happy New Year!!!!!

Cabin Fever

Yep, crazy is what happened when you are "trapped" at home with a hyper-active 19mth old boy for 2 whole days! I love winter but I hate it when there's black ice, don't like driving on those slippery roads! I guess staying at home has its advantages. :D



Decided that I wanted to paint, or rather "re-decorate", my little boy's room. He's approaching the terrible twos (erm....I think he's already there...) and somehow wanted to give his room a little of that little toddler look. Went on the net and surfed for some designs and inspiration. Decided on the theme and started to "decontruct" his room to make way for the BIG EVENT! Today!! My husband, to his credit, decides to keep mum and let me have my way before I jump in his throat. Sooooo...crazy me, after being stuck in the house for 2 days, went to Home Depot, bought 2 gallons of 2 different color paints. I'm all ready to go now...just waiting for Ethan to finish napping....

Meanwhile I'm having some doubts, started off really hyped up and excited, now I'm just worried if I could complete this within a day???? In fact, within 3 hours, that includes painting dual color AND stenciling!! I'm beginning to think I was getting a wee bit over my head!! But it's too late now!!Just have to keep moving forward..........

I've decided that this would be my Christmas present for Ethan...hehehe....plus he would be getting some "grown-up" furniture in his room (from dad) so I think it would be good. Besides, today would be a good day to embark on painting a room, afterall, it's high of 58F *tongue in cheek*. You've GOTTA love this weather!!!!


Stir-fried Aspargus with bacon bits/Home-made Rendang/Cranberry-Pumpkin Bread/Thai Boat Noodles/Soy Sauce with Vinegar and Chillies Dipping Sauce for Noodles/Ma Po Tofu/Banana Muffin

With the approaching holiday, my kitchen was a flurry of baking, baking and more baking!!! Didn't have a lot of time to really get cooking. Meanwhile still trying to clear my freezer to make way for Christmas dinner...yet to decide on the menu...it's really mind boggling! :D

Post Thanksgiving Pics: As promised

It was a wonderful Thanksgiving and all of us had the best time! It was soooo relaxing and stressless for me (hehehhe...especially so since I didn't have to cook!!). Of course, there was Black Friday which I didn't shop at all! Amazingly! But my husband did...*sigh*...."damage" was done regardless of all the justifications he had "presented". Nevertheless, it was still a great Thanksgiving weekend. Most of all I'm thankful for everything I have, family, health, good friends, and most of all, good food. :D


Egg Tarts(I made some for the Thanksgiving dinner)/dinner rolls, great garlic mash & Bread Pudding from scratch/more dinner rolls/closeup of bread pudding/cranberry-orange-apple sauce/corn on the cob/asparagus wrapped in bacon, corn, & pumpkin-apple butter pie/THE BEST TURKEY IN THE WORLD/more turkey, corn and asparagus shots

Everything you see on the table is made from scratch by my friends except for the dinner rolls, corn and the egg tarts that I brought. I made those tarts the night before and just heat them up a little before serving in order to give a "freshly baked taste", surprisely it tasted just like it. Neat!As for the turkey, I can't say enough of it. It's just marvelous, juicy, tender, tasty, melting in your mouth sensation! It was perfect!!!! And the rest of the food, well, what can I say...they were just as great!! There were so much food that it took us 2 days to finish that whole meal! Yah....2 days!!!


Soy Sauced Chicken(KC recipe)/bean sprouts with water spinach and Shrimps/Ching Ting(another KC recipe)/Dry Noodles with soy sauced chicken/Black Forest Cake from Jo's Deli Bakery/Thai stewed pork/Stir-fried brussel sprouts with garlic and dried shrimps

Just some stuff I'd cooked BEFORE Thanksgiving!! Imagine!! hehehehe....I was just too ridiculously lazy to blog...I'm such a bum! :D

Post Thanksgiving Note

Got back from our Thanksgiving road trip. It was great but seriously tiring. Weather wasn't great when driving home, the winds were going at 50+ miles/hour!!! We were being "blown" away as we drive, if it wasn't for gravity who knows where we would be now. And each time the car door made a whistling sound (the angle of which the wind hit), Ethan would say "uh-oh", it was 2 hours worth of "uh-oh"s but I think it would last me for quite some time if I don't hear it any sooner.

Well, just a short note to inform friends and family that I'm back and seriously stuffed. I think my friend had outdone himself this year! It was the best turkey we ever had, as in all that we've eaten anywhere!!!! Will post pics on a later post. Meanwhile, still catching up with sleep and routine, it was some great 4 days "vacation". So many things, so little time....

10 Things I Like About Winter

1. There's no worries of showing unwanted body fat coz most of the time you're pretty much BUNDLED UP! :)
2. Due to the "bundling up", there's also not a real need to constantly shave your legs, or arms...just let it grow.....(I've hit a low point..:D)
3. No more mowing, watering, and pruning lawns/hedges/weeds
4. The wonderful crisp winter air with a hint of firewood burning; EXHILARATING!
5. Something about seeing all those over-commercialized Christmas' decoration and the hint of pine fragrance in the malls make you feel all happy happy inside and hypnotized you to keep on shopping and buying.
6. Days are shorter!
7. Great hair days (most of it) due to lack of humidity
8. More holiday time (for Ed)
9. Great excuse to continously stuff your face (I'm lame AND greedy)
10. Most of all, cold weather makes you more tranquil, calmer and happpier...aaaahhhhh....

So to everyone....

Busy Bees

Gosh, what a week!! Both Ed and I were having the same cold over the whole weekend, courtesty of Ethan!!! Big Surprise. It was so bad that we had to tag team to look after our whinnier-than-usual-coz-of-a-runny-nose Ethan. We even took turns to NAP!! Yah, both of us were totally EXHAUSTED!!! But we are now much better and other than a few shiffles here and there, we are pretty much back to normal. Although it's not the same with Ethan. I think it's taking him a little longer coz he's so fussy with everything. He's still very "snotty" and totally HATES it when I try to suck the mucus out from his nose. Sounds worse than it really is, but that's pretty much the only sure way to get him breathing through his nose instead of his mouth!

Out of all this "mess", I still managed to catch a movie the weekend. ONLY ME!! I know, I'm THAT desperate. I went alone coz 1. there's no babysitter available, 2. Ed said he would rather be sick AT HOME WITH SICK ETHAN than to go to watch this show, 3. Unless he needed to save lives, he would pass this movie! Hey it's not that bad...well....it's not comparable to the five hour miniseries one, but hey, it's my all-time favourite book!! Yah, San, I think you've guessed it, it's Pride and Prejudice!! I HAD to watch it, it's that serious! Ok, I don't want to go into too much of this movie for those who haven't seen it yet........but I WILL!!! hehehehhe

I'm definitely a strict "Austenian". I like it the way she wrote it, AS IT WAS! I understand that with a moive(especially one that's condensed into 2hr 7mins)you can't have every itty bitty detail from the book written into the moive. But please....PLEASE.....DO NOT ADD THINGS INTO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That seriously bothers me greatly!! If Jane Austen wanted those added details, she would have wrote that into her book but she didn't which MEANS THEY WON'T INTEND TO BE IN THERE!!! *sigh* I really feel that it's almost an atrocity that they added all the extras in it!!! Overall, it's good, as good as the one with Colin Firth in it...hmmm...can't compare, one's a made for tv mini-series, the other is a movie....sooo...it's really a personal opinion to that. One thing I've to say is that the cinematography is GREAT! Now....the only thing left....is....go watch it......:D

Ok....I could go on and on about Jane Austen's works....but let's not......got a equation here....what happened if you add Ethan and a box of Legos
?? Seriously anyone would think that we were robbed!?!?!?





Meanwhile in the kitchen front, this is what I made over the week....you'd probably notice Porridge there.. Yah, it's my when-I'm-sick/down/cold weather comfort food! Ed hates it, but again(I can never stressed this enough...ehhehe), I"M THE QUEEN OF THE KITCHEN!


Raisin Rolls(courtesy of Ching's Little Corner with a slight modification)/Long Beans with Prawns/Pork, Dried Oyster & Century Egg Congee/Homemade Hokkien Mee(courtesy of Lily's Wai Sek Hong)/Prawn Mee/Modified Young Tau Foo/Oyster Omelette

On the weather forecast, WE ARE FINALLY GETTING THE CHILLS!! Ok, that came out wrong. What I meant to say is that we are finally getting the "normal" winter weather!!! WOOHOOOOOOOO...I LOVE THE COLD! It's soooo, sooo, sooo......winterish!!(ok, I'm a dork!). Sure brings out the holiday spirits. Now all I can think of is Christmas, Christmas, Christmas!!!!! And Thanksgiving is not even here yet... :) Ohwell...at least I'm not stressing out for the Thanksgiving meal, we are going to N & K's place for that....yippeee...more food pics!

So for everyone who thinks I probably went AWOL....I was just sick...:D And San, I'll try to keep the KitchenAid Mixer a secret from your sis!! hehehehehe...:D Did I mention that I'm already planning on getting the ice-cream maker attachment for it! I'm contemplating of making Lemon Gelato for the Christmas menu *wink*

An Unusually Warm November Day

As most Texas' residents would know by now, there's no such thing as accurate weather forecasts, especially when it comes to Texas' weather! We'd been having such hot days (IN WINTER, NO LESS, averaging 80Fs daily) that only the a/c is operational!! So when you're given lemons......make lemonade!



Took Ethan to a neighbourhood park with a brandnew swanky playground. COOL! He enjoyed it. He was a little apprehensive about the swings(and still is!) but he loved the slides. Well, he always love the slides.... And he found this really bouncer thingy. (Don't know what it's called). Basically you stand there and moved that "bouncer" with your movements. He was totally tickled! They had all kinds of things, an area for babies/toddlers and a slightly modified and bigger area for the bigger kids. They also had this musical walls and it makes different noises when hit. Plus it's facing a stream, really nice. There were ducks and geese but we didn't have any bread, so just had to contend with looking at them. This place is really really awesome, they obviously took into consideration of entertaining kids of all ages.


Yum Woon Sen/Mysore Beef/Sambal Water Spinach/Pulut Hitam/Chicken with Tofu and Green Onions/Masala Okra/Choco and Green Tea Melting Moments/New KitchenAid

Some food I made over the course of last week...And yah, my new buy of the month!!! My spanking NEW KITCHENAID STAND MIXER. I LOVE IT! It was about time I retired my old mixer too. Plus now I can make my doughs using their dough hook instead of by hand (way too tiring and time-consuming).
I made the Choco and Green Tea Melting Moments with the new mixer too and it was wonderful! Compliments to Ching's recipe. It was easy enough for me. :D However my cookies never quite browned??? Odd. But it was ok...it's the taste that matter! HA!
As for the Mysore Beef, I got the recipe from KC which is a simplified version( as I understood) of the original Mysore Beef recipe from Banana Leaf Temptations, which I also have the book. I kinda combined both recipes and made it to my liking.
My husband does not like Okra/Lady's Fingers....well.....TOO BAD!!!!!!!! :D As for the Yum Woon Sen, it was his request. He just felt like eating that. I think you eat it with Lettuece on the side, at least that is what he told me, although he eats his like a wrap. Hmmm....doesn't really matter I guess, it's up to personal preferences.

Meanwhile have to rush off to take care of little rascal..this time, runny nose... *sigh* Don't quite know how he gotten that?????

Nursemaid's Elbow

Ethan had a little "accident" two days ago! We were playing "swinging monkeys" when he slipped off my hand and shifted his ligament off his elbow!!! He couldn't move his left arm without screaming in pain. IT WAS MAJORLY FRIGHTENING!!!! Had to call his ped and get an emergency appointment! Didn't know what it was, thought he might have fractured something. All I know was it was heartwrenching for me to hear and see him in so much pain. He was ok as long as he didn't move that arm!

Went to the doc's, told us that it was something called Nursemaid's Elbow. She re-adjusted Ethan's elbow and "popped" it right back into position. And almost IMMEDIATELY, Ethan could use that arm again! It was like it never happened! Almost like a miracle! Glad he was ok.

Conclusion: No more "swinging the monkey" anymore!!! My poor little goofboy! But boy, that was a scare alright!! 

Monkey ESCAPES from the zoo!!!

Ethan decided that the pumpkin patch was the way to go....ermmm...I don't think he realised that it doesn't turn into a carriage!! :D He's just a cutie! While we were at the Arboretum (and MAN, was it packed!), he just went stir crazy...so the only thing we could do was to let him loose....ON the REST of the people there!!!

All Hallow's Eve

Picky Eater

Ok, Thanks to San I HAD to make some Chicken Rice!!! Once again, thanks San! :p But luckily for me, I make this rather often and it was quick and almost "painless". Also there's now a "shortcut" to making the fragrant rice eversince I found Chng Kee's Chicken Rice Sauce. Makes things sooo much easier!!! Hehehhe...Now that I've said it...to the main issue!

My husband "claims" that he's not a picky eater!!! YAH RIGHT!! He's what I call a closeted picky eater, I think it's about time I EXPOSED him for what he REALLY is!!!

He always "CLAIMS" that he can eat everything...except when food's presented to him, he would give remarks like "you know, I always avoid eating claypot rice coz I don't enjoy everything in one pot" OR "I don't eat meats that are boiled" OR "It's steamed" OR "I'm not used to eating this this way". Ok, those are some of the examples. Thing is, he's a really fussy eater and doesn't want to admit it coz he doesn't want people to think that he's very particular of what he eat!

To statement ONE, he doesn't eat claypot rice but he would Steamed Glutinous Rice or better known as Lor Mai Gai. Erm...just the difference in the rice. He would also eat Chinese Rice Dumplings!!!!

To statement Two, he doesn't like boiled meats. He LOVES Steamboat!! Does that explain away the boiled meat issue! So are those in curry, they are boiled too, just not with plain water...*Sigh*

To the last statement, he's not used to eating ANYTHING that's not Thai style! Which in his mind means sweet, spicy, more sweet and spicier.

He also said that he doesn't like tomatoes but it's ok in curries coz he doesn't see them in order for him to complain about. What he doesn't see, he doesn't know.

He also doesn't eat a whole bunch of other things....oh yah, did I mention that my husband's not a picky eater?!?!?

Meanwhile I've to cook like I've two toddler boys in the house. TRICK THEM!!! What they don't see, they will eat without fuss!!! LOL!!! Both of my boys loved everything as long as it's FRIED, SWEET, DEEP FRIED, SWEETER and erm...fried??? Well, you get the idea. But you know what...:D They can complain all they want, I'm the only one in the household who's doin' the cooking....so they can either starve or stop whinning and eat up! :D I totally RULE!!! :D (my hubby can't cook and I'm not exergerating either!!!)

Oh yah...my email's been acting up again, so to San and Fib, thanks for those eCards!!! Thanks!!!!!!! :D

Halloween Party: Monkey

Just some pics that I'd taken of Ethan in his Halloween costume. He was a little monkey and sooooo cute! So many pics, but most of those at his party turned out rather blurred. However those taken with the camcorder was ok. I guess he was just too fast for the camera! LOL


Cheeky Monkey


Mischievious Monkey


Tired Monkey


Random Monkey Poses

Some random food I made over the course of last week. Sambal Eggplants / Wat Tan Hor Fun/ Deep Fried Thai Fish/ Siew Mai/ Gan Jiang Chicken

Meme: Childhood Food Memories

Carrying on the meme baton from Little Corner of Mine


I've so many food memories that I really don't know where to begin. I'm really blessed with all the wonderful food I had in my childhood. My paternal family's Peranakan and my maternal side's Cantonese. So I've a lot favourites...nevertheless, I'll try and limit it to just 5! hehehe..

Each time I utter these words my husband would sigh! Before he had tried it, he had never ever heard of this dish. I tried to describe to the best of my knowledge but failed. Then he finally had a taste of it, he didn't like it(I think it's an acquired taste, like durian). It's not easy to get it and most of the time, it's not even that good. The dish is Ayam Buah Keluak and I think it's as authentic a Peranakan dish as you can get. Translated, it's called Chicken in Black Nut Curry. And I think the Black Nut is only available in Indonesia. Each Peranakan household has their own special "brew" for making this dish. So there's no exact replica of this dish anywhere! The first time I had it(I think it was at my paternal grandmother's place), I fell in love with it!!! It's sooo sooooo gooooddddd.... It takes days to actually prepare this dish mainly because of the black nuts but it's worth the wait and the anticipation!

I know I'll always remember Sunday mornings whereby my dad would ask us(my bro and I)what we want for brunch as he and mom were going to the market. I would always asked for Yong Tau Foo. My absolute favorite!! Not just from any store, it has to be from this particular store at this coffeeshop at Clementi. They were really really good. They were always so crowded and you had to wait FOREVER to get your order. They are no longer in the Yong Tau Foo business now but I can still remember the great flavours of that dish. Somehow all the other Yong Tau Foo I had don't seem to come close to this store!

When I was little, we used to plant a lot of our vegetables. My maternal grandma lived with us and she is a great gardener. Everything she planted, grew beautifully. Of course, she's also a great cook. She used to teach me how to grow these wonderful vegetables, unfortunately I'm not endowed with a green thumb! So she would helped my vegetable patch on the sneak and I would then have the harvest that I can be happy about! I had this winter melon patch and each time it had winter melons, we would have this fantastic soup. My grandma would used the hollowed out melon as the bowl and steamed it with chicken, chinese mushrooms, dried scallops and what nots. This Double Steamed Winter Melon is what I craved for each time I see them winter melons in the grocery stores here. I can remember the taste of it, it's a full-bodied rich yet light soup. Something about growing your own food makes it taste even better!

Then there's the Apolo Banana Leaf's Fish Head Curry . Our family used to go to the original Banana Leaf wayyyy before they had a/c. You eat in the heat and you sweat with it! Tons of Lime juice to go with that. It was the best combination and still is. Now they are all "grown-up" with the a/c, the new location, the crowds, the glamour... But I still go back and eat whenever I'm in town. They are still as good, I believe (at least in my opinion).

Finally, one of my favs, Fish Ball Noddles! Not just any store. There was this famous Fish Ball Noodle store in the old Bukit Timah Market(of course, it's no longer there, they have been closed for a long time now). But that place has the best noodles ever, it's all in the sauce! I remembered having to take a number and wait for ages. They were always busy and it didn't help when you're hungry either. The "chef" was this old wry man and his adult children helped out. I would also remembered that although they had a real bad attitude, people would buy from them! They are THAT good! Their policy was that if you can't stand them, you dont' have to order from them! Ahhhh...good old days!! LOL

Well it was tough just limiting to five, but I made it! hehehe...Now I'm going to pass the baton to
1.Ventalation Space
2.Travel Light

Nature's Beauty

I love the Holiday Seasons!! I consider the start of October as "the Holiday Seasons"!!! You see, in October there's Halloween! Then in November, there's Thanksgiving, in December there's Christmas!! I mean, what more can you ask for (of course, there's more, but let's not digress).



Although the Texas weather has not been too cooperative(meaning, it really doesn't feel like the "season" since it's averaging at 85F to date, not at all "christmasy"), I think Autumn is peeking out. Some of the leaves are turning golden and falling off the trees, the grass are turning to almost a shade of burnt orange. Days are shorter and Ethan's getting cheekier(no relation, but what the heck!)



Took this opportunity to take some pics of the annoying creeping ivy growing on one of my hedges. Yah, it's a wild ivy and sprouts amazingly pretty red berries in the Fall season. I know it's a weed but I never had the heart to take that out. This is one weed that I allow to live in my yard (yah, I'm guilty of weeed-o-cide! I hired the chemlawn dudes!! *evil snickering"). They are just too pretty to destroy. Besides, it's too high up on the hedge for me to trim.



Made Kway Chap over the weekend. Had some company so I decided to make some dessert as well. Didn't have time to make an Asian dessert but had some really good-looking strawberries. So decided to make some Strawberry and Cream Short Cake. Hmmm....It tasted pretty good, although the presentation could have been much better. Hey, it's the taste that counts right?!?!

Weekend

Picnic at the arboretum

Had a little picnic at the arboretum on Sat. It was really nice and cool. A lot of people were out there too, enjoying the great weather. It was simply perfect!


Dallas Arboretum

Some pics I took while we were there. They had some really great fall flowers eg, mums and what not, lots of butterflies were around too, I'd have thought that the cool weather would have driven them away. Guess not...oh well...


food for the weekend

From left to right on the top: Herbs for my Steamed Herbal Chicken, then had to make some Thai Papaya Salad. You see, we were at a friend's place on Sat and his wife made Papaya salad and Yum Woon Sen. It was sooo good...I just needed more even after we left their place. I usually don't really enjoy Thai food that much but this was different, it was THAT good! So went back home, bought some ingredients on the way back and made some too! Heheheh.. I followed the Thai style of this salad and our friend's was more of a laosian style. Doesn't matter, it was GREAT!!! I didn't make the Yum Woon Sen (errmm...I got lazy) but I made Ground Pork with Lime Juice (next pic). It's Thai too and usually eaten with Glutinous rice but you can eat it with regular rice (ok....I didn't prepare the rice, it was an impromptu thing!!!) which we did. And lastly decided to make some Otak Otak (had serious cravings over the weekend!!). With the leftovers I made them into Otak Otak buns!! Also delicious. I still have some papaya left from making the salad, probably might make some more...hehehe...



Mischeivious Monkey

Just my silly monkey up to no good. Right now he's into climbing! He climbs EVERYWHERE!! He even went to the extend of pushing his toy box to the washer and used that as a step to get onto the washer. I heard him giggling and I knew he was up to no good!! When I found him, he looked at me and tried to hug and kiss me!! CHEEKY LITTLE BUGGER!!! Caught him here climbing onto his toy jeep!! *sigh* my little monkey. Currently he's into twirling!! Hehehe...sounds weird but he's twirling! He's also "discovered" his own shadow and kept trying to touch it! LOL it's hilarious to see the little goofball! And yah, he even answers to the name "goofball" I wondered if we are executing the right parenting skill???

Snippets of the little "monkey"

1 pea, 2 pea, 3 pea......errr...where was I??


yah.........that's not a pea mommy!!!


singsong voice :naaanahnahnahanaaaaaaahhhh


uh-oh

Footnote: Still trying to look for a monkey costume for my little "monkey" for Halloween!

Fall is PRICELESS

Getting Ethan ready to drive to the Arboretum = 15 minutes
Packing the essentials(snacks and water) for him while we are there = 10 minutes
Driving to the Arboretum = 20-25 minutes
Entrance fee to the Arboretum = $95 per annum for membership
The marvelous walk in the park on a beautiful morning = 1.5 hour
Drive home = 20 minutes
A pooped and tired out boy who fell asleep on the way back home and then slept for the next 2 hours = PRICELESS!!!!!

There's some things time and money can't buy......PEACE AND QUIET!!!!

A little Robert Frost

Looking through some of my poetry books and came across one of my favs. Thought I would just share it here. Somehow Look What You've Done by Jet seems oddly compatible with this poem. Oh well...


ROAD LESS TRAVELED

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth

Then took the other as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet, knowing how way leads onto way
I doubted if I should ever come back

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence
Two roads diverged in a wood
And I took the one less traveled by
And that has made all the difference


Robert Frost

Stroll in the Park

Tired, Thirsty and Hot!!


Scenes from the park

Over the weekend, we went to the Dallas Arboretum for a little walk since the weather's a little less hot that day. It was not too crowded and there were a few wedding receptions and photo shoots going on. My little boy was in PARADISE!!! He walked his little heart out!! Boy! Was he exhausted but he had a great time. You can tell from his little flushed face, he was guzzling cold water like there's no tomorrow!! Hehehehe.. He wanted to walk some more but WE were tired....till next weekend....I think we'll be going there again, it's the Fall Bloom, would be good....

An Afterthought

Refreshing

After a day in the Texas heat and running about, there's nothing better than a cool refreshing bath. I LOVE WATER!!!!


Homemade focaccia bread with Beef Chilli

I know, it's Wednesday but hey, it's not this weekend yet!! Hehehhe...Well, over the PAST weekend, we were rather lazy. So I made some Chilli and some Parmesean Focaccia bread to go with it. It was good......simple and delicious. Best of all, the cleanup was seriously MINIMAL!! hehehe..
And for Sunday, we met up with some friends for brunch at the Blue Mesa. We had three kids among us under the age of three, 'nuff said. There was very little chitchatting done but we all had a great time, including the kids. They LOVED the desserts there!! I called it the Gourmet Chucky Cheese!!! hehehehe... They have lotsa homemade stuff, like vanilla ice cream, waffles, made-to-order omelettes, etc. It's JUST MARVELOUS.

ahhhh....the sound of silence

Woke up to a great Saturday morning to just the low purring of the fan. It's GREAT! There was not a hint of background sound of The Doodlebops or The Wiggles! It was really soothing and peaceful. I took my time to clean up and pampered myself a little with some do-it-myself "spa" treatment and....ahhhhh.....soooooooo nnnnnniiiiiiccccceeeeeee..

Yup, my husband had taken Ethan to his weekly Little Gym class. So there's only me and ME alone at home! It had been so long since I had a morning like this that it really makes me appreciate the beautiful sound of quietness!! It's marvelous. So I'm gonna enjoy it while it lasts...

The Good, the Bad, the Greedy and the Oh-So-Naughty

The GREAT BIG BAD:Katrina!
Katrina really did a heck of a job on those two states. Being so close (state wise), makes you think of your mortality yet everything is still so surreal. It's very heartwrenching to see those kids on TV especially when you're a mother. It breaks my heart to see them homeless and hungry, I can't imagine that inflicted upon Ethan. It's really a tragedy. Meanwhile I hope that they (EVACUEES, NOT refugees!!) get the help they need and although things can never be the same, life goes on.




The other BAD: Ethan "stole" some cheerios off some parked stroller while in the playground and nonchalantly put them in his mouth and ate them! EEECCCHHHHHH


The Good: On another note (a little less depressing), Ed had two days off over the Labor Day weekend, so it turned out to be a five day leave. It was great! We had a couple of friends over the weekend and all we did was pig out! Ethan was having so much fun being outdoors and getting all the attention that he was not willing to let them leave. My little boy is NO DOUBT an attention grabber!! He LOVES it!! Can't get enough of it!!! *sigh* Even when he's in the Little Gym, he's the same way. He HAS to be the LOUDEST, he HAS to talk to EVERYONE there (adults AND kids! doesn't matter, he's not picky to who his audience are as long as there are!)I had help and therefore not sooooo stressful. Not like it was relaxing or anything but it was great being myself again. Also had some stuff done which was soothing to know..*exhale* I can breathe again....Oh yah, also visited Ikea again!! hehehe....need to stop going there for a while before I go broke!!!




The Greedy: It was one meal after another and let me tell you, it wasn't even funny!! FIVE days of glorious food!! OMG! We were stuffed! I cooked one night and it was a feast. Even Ethan was having a good appetite, it was too much good food. Then we had Japanese Buffet, Dim Sum, Indian food, and Malaysian food. I know....A LOT OF FOOD!!!!!!




The Oh-So-Naughty: Ethan LOVES his weekly Little Gym. He loves the attention, he loves all the equipment, he loves the space, he loves all the people!! HE LOVES IT!

Meanwhile another weekend is here....ahhhhhh......more things to do...oh yah...Chile Fest!!! Tune in...:D Have a great weekend everyone!!!

Cheerios : Not just a morning breakfast cereal ANYMORE!!!

The workings of the mind of a 15 month old

Cheerios:

1. Doubles as confetti, to be stcatter evenly EVERYWHERE!! Of course, when hungry, there's always food around to eat.

2. Also can be use as dog/cat/bird/duck food.

3. As a side OR a scoop when eating grass/rocks/pepples/acorns/dirt/bugs

4. Acts as a "weapon", to be thrown/strewn at chasing parent when needed.

5. A floatation "toy" like that of the Rubber Duckie, use in the presence of a bath or for playing with the toilet ball!

6. Substitute for "missing" mini toy balls; hence can be use to put into ANY SORT OF HOLES!!!

7. Also as store-away food, to be stuffed into couches, high chairs, juice cups, bed, DIAPERS and other places that you can hide or stuff anything!!

8. Amazingly funny when crushed with a juice cup.

9. A bartering tool with mummy for her cellphone/remote control/purse/anything else that I'm not supposed to play with.

10. Oh yah, also as a good morning breakfast cereal!!


--------------------------------Contributed SOLELY by Ethan T---------------

Life on a tightrope!

Yup...today's a really really bad day for me. Actually these couple of weeks have been pretty bad, just that these few days have gotten even worse (if it can get any worse!!!).

I've been in and out of some serious mood swings, mostly depression. Things are not alright. My husband had to work some really late nights to get his work done for the deadline and even weekends are spent(from day till late night) at the office. So Ethan and I had barely see him at all.

To make things worse, my thumbs' been acting back up again!!!! ARRRGGGHHHHHHH!!!!! I've, or rather had, DeQuervain's Tenosynovitis, so my doc told me to "relax" my thumbs and lay off those repetitive motions/actions that aggravigate my fingers. Well, it's back coz these days there was no one to help me except me so it can't be helped. Anyway, the "good" news would be that Ed would have some comtime and be off on Thursday and Friday with a three day weekend (American Labor Day). So, woohoo, 5 days off!! However we have friends over here to stay for the three day weekend. Not that bad, it would be nice to FINALLY have some adult company!!!

Decided that I needed some mood alleviators!! Noooo!! Not drugs!!! Called up my hairstylist to make an appt (it's always great to have a cut when you're down!!hehehe). Had some chocs and started flipping through some mags that I've gotten some days earlier....*good while Ethan's napping* Wrote down the menu for the pending menu. Listed out the stuff I needed to get at Ikea (GOD I LOVE THAT PLACE!!!)


This is how my day went today....*sigh*

7am: Ethan woke up whinning a little, got up(UNWILLINGLY)got his milk, changed his diaper and fed him. Was a happy camper again and started scampering about!! Got him his breakie (cheerios) and juice. An even happier camper!! Started feeding mommy some cheerios as well. Got meself a banana and Ethan got greedy, so shared some with him!!

8:30am: Ed woke up, clean upped, got ready to go back to WORK!!!!

8:45am: I cleaned up, got out of my jammies, while Ed played with Ethan for a bit before heading off to WORK!

9:15am: All done and Ed getting out of the door, Ethan decided that he's not letting Ed go THIS TIME!!! He clinged on his daddy like a little koala. Each time Ed tried to let him down, Ethan screamed. Didn't want mommy. Finally had to "remove" him by some force. He was ok...other then seriously upset!

9:45am: Ok, Ed's FINALLY GONE!! Got the laundry going. Ethan already happily "torturing" the dog. Dog's pitiful, begging to let him into the room so that the boy wouldn't bug him. did not.

10am: Read rascal a couple of books. He would sit and listen and also chew on the corners of all the books!!! Let him do that! He loves his ladybug book!! Played "catch" with him for a bit, got exhausted (ermm...me that is)

10:30am: Fed him his morning snack of BabyYogurt!

11am: NAP NAP TIME!!! YOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOO

Intermission: *exhhhhaaallllleeeee*

1:15pm: Ethan woke up with a goofy grin (probably some goofy dream he had). Fed him lunch, milk and he went INSANE with his toys!!!

2pm: Found Ethan in the toilet "partying" with his makeshift hottub aka TOILET BOWL!!!! *sigh* He was splashing and dumping toilet paper, toys and whatever he found into the bowl!!! Dragged him out of the toilet, screaming and "fighting" with me!! AAARRRGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! Clean and dried the place out!

3pm: Went to store to get milk, got hungry and decided to have some chow at the store as well. Got some salad, got a table, strapped kid down, went and get some napkins. Came back to table, kid had poured the entire cup of ice water all over himself!!!!! AAAAARRRRRRGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT"S THE DEAL WITH WATER TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Everyone was looking!! *EMBARRASSING* Went to the restroom to dry him off as much as possible. Packed my salad, rushed into the store, got the milk and got out. Drove home with a naked kid (other than diapers!)in the back seat!!!! He was really cheerful for one who's just got soaked through in icewater!

5pm: HOME!!! SALVATION!!!!! Let hyperactive boy to play while I clean up. Had to catch him to put on some dry clothes on him!!! *sigh* (serious cardio workout already). Started working on dinner; roast pork loin and salsa taco.

6:30pm: Fed Ethan dinner, while I continue prepping tmr's dinner!!!! Funny kid, loves cherry tomatoes, hates meat (any kind), picking out the peas to eat and had some tortilla pieces, with pineapples no less!!! Weird combo right. Well, it was the never eaten salad!! He was busy throwing chicken chunks on the floor!! *sigh* more cleanups!!!

7:30pm: Gave stinker a bath; giggling and splashing MORE water onto the floor!! Cleaning up YET AGAIN!

8:30pm: Had one last bottle of milk, brushed his teeth, he was EXHAUSTED!!! SO was I!!! Sang to him, rocked him a little, he was still all smiley and wanting to play!! But he was pooped!! heeheh....Sweetest boy when he's all tired out!! Gave all the goodnight kisses, and tucked him out!!

8:40pm: Ran around the house, doing ALL the cleanups!!!

9:30pm: Bathed and now all relaxed!! Finally sat down!! GOD MY LEGS FEEL REAL GOOD!!!

10pm: Finshed with dinner and now blogging with a glass of wine!! LIFE!!!

It's a looooonnnggg day and I think I'll be hitting the sack in a bit....

11pm: Now......ending...ciao....goodnight.....Ed's still not back.....tmr's another day..can't wait till Thurs........THREE MORE DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Redesigned

Hope that you'd all enjoy this blog. Took me a while but I'm done (for NOW). There was a lot I wanted to do but with the "limited" time I have, this is the "best" I can come up with. Will blog in a later post. Meanwhile...I'm going back to "work".

PS: I think the background sound can get buggy after a while...hmmm...any comments?? Take it off???

Of Watermelons, Great food and Ethan......of course...

Decided that since it's been a while I've updated, I'll include EVERYTHING(ok, the summarized version, of course) that's been going on with my life...

Went to a Watermelon Festival this past weekend in Oklahoma in a small town call Rushmoore. It's great, a real true blue, small country fare. I think my lil' gourment watermelon expert (Ethan) has the bestest time! He LOVES watermelon. He can live on watermelon alone(if I let him, YAH! in his dreams!). It was muggy coz of all the rain, but you know what, sunshine came back for a while and we had a really good time! (yah, if you don't have hair like mine, it WOULD have been great...San, you would know what I mean!). They actually have some watermelon competition and the winner went to a 141 pounder!! I wonder who gets to eat those prize winning suckers.....hehehe... Would be a waste not to get your hands on those beauties!! And of course, Ethan was slapping those PRIZE WINNING MELONS like drums. Somehow I didn't think those farmers appreciate that! *GULP*


Watermelon Festival in Rushmoore, Oklahoma 

You get to eat those succulent watermelons right there if you want to for a meagre price of 50cents a slice!! YES 50 CENTS!!!! You heard me.....HALF A DOLLAR/TWO QUARTERS/FIVE DIMES!!! Mannn....they were good, it was one of those elongated varieties and they cut it into quarters, lengthwise!! Some people ate their pieces with sprinkling of salt on it. I know, sounds weird, but when I tried it, it was actually quite refreshing! Not strange at all! I guess they knew what they were doing afterall.


Great watermelon! 

And that's the pic of my greedy lil boy dripping with watermelon juice. The sun was in his eyes and it didn't even bother him, well, it's watermelon, what can I say! He was sitting on the table while his daddy fed him. :D

Some Food Pic

There's Nasi Lemak that I'd made for last Sunday brunch. Was not too bad, and quick. Make some tumeric chicken wings (stuck it in the oven...:D)and had some sambal in the freezer so fried some anchovies to go with that. The rest is self-explanatory....


Nasi Lemak 

This is Alaskan King Crab Fried Rice. Can't see the rice coz it's at the bottom of this wonderful, simply marvelous tasting Stir-fried Crab!! It's really really goooddd.... you've got to be there to really enjoy this. Ethan LOVES this!! No kidding! Errmmm...I didn't make this! Hehehehe... My friend did! Hehehe... We were at his place over the weekend (for the Watermelon Festival in Oklahoma) and he made us dinner. There were other dishes but this is DA BOMB!! Hehehhe... If there were Smell-A-Vision!!


Alaskan King Crab Fried Rice! YUMMY 


This is a test of my new Indoor Grill!! DANG! How did I manage to live WITHOUT it before?!?!?!? Heheheh... Yah, made this up (from fridge leftovers)for a Saturday lunch. Didn't know what to make so took some stuff and slap it on the grill! And it really look great! Thanks to the grill marks on the panini!! It really looked pro! hehehehe... Oh yah, I even grilled the chicken I used in the panini, hey, no many cleanups! The Indoor Grill(got the cheapo one coz I wanted to check it out!)works great with Korean Bulgolgi (had done that 3 times already! it's that great especially when you are too lazy to cook a "real" sit-down dishes kinda dinner). Just marinate everything you wanna slapped it on the grill for 15-30mins and it's done. All the meat already come pre-sliced (so that saved me tons of work!!!Heheheh...ok...I'm lazy too....hehehe)! Everyone loves the end result! So this grill is definitely a KEEPER!! For those who are interested in this grill, I got it from Sam's Club for $35+ and it's worth every penny. Not only it grills, you can flipped it to the other side and use it as a griddle too. Haven't got a chance to use that yet but soooooonnnnn..... hehehehe...Oh yah, it's from Wolfgang Puck series in Sam's Club.



Chicken, Basil and Tomato Panini 

And finally Ethan...Just some random pics of him. He's such a goofboy! Right now he's sssooooooooo active.....


Is it basball time? 


I've fallen and I kinda can't get up??!!!